The invention concerns a process for the production of photographic copies from photographic copy masters in a photographic copy apparatus, having a measuring station wherein an exposed photographic master material, on which photographic copy masters are exposed, is analyzed master by master.
Photographic copy masters, such as exposed negative film material, are exposed in a photographic copy apparatus onto photographic copy material, usually photographic positive paper, and are delivered together with the exposed photographic copy material to the customer. Reorders in most cases are from existing positive images. It is usually necessary for the customer to find the corresponding negative and to communicate it to the laboratory. The negative films at this point in time are typically present in strips of four to six negative masters. In order to facilitate the correlation of the positive images with the negative masters, the negative film manufacturers provide continuous numbering at regular intervals on the negative film strips, which become visible during development and may be coordinated with a given negative master. However, as during the exposure of the negative film it is being transported at different uniform rates in each photographic camera, generally the relative position of the negative masters relative to the numbers applied during manufacture is not correlated. For this reason, it is frequently very difficult for the customer to coordinate the negative desired in a given case with the correct number. If the customer in such a case has decided on a negative with respect to a certain number, as may occur in particular during the automatic processing of the order, individual copies of negatives other than the one ordered (for example the preceding or following one) will be used in processing the order. To avoid such an error, it has often been necessary heretofore for the operating personnel of the laboratory, either together with the customer or alone, to decide which negative is actually the correct one. This condition is unsatisfactory for both parties and is also highly laborious and personnel intensive.
In numerous cases the relative position of the negative masters to the numbers on the negative film strips is such that even experienced operators in the laboratories encounter severe problems in arriving at an unambiguous correlation. For this reason, in EP 0 293 887 a process and an apparatus are proposed to eliminate this condition. In the process described therein, films are used on which the numbers additionally are represented by bar codes, applied between the perforation holes and the outer edge of the negative film. This bar code is provided in addition to the so-called DX code, which also is a bar code and contains information concerning the manufacturer, the type of film and the production lot number. In the measuring station of a photographic laboratory, the numbers coded in the bar code are read by means of a detector which is provided in addition to the detector for the DX code and together with further information relative to the negative concerned, and punched for example into a perforated strip. In the exposure station another detector is present for the bar code to again read the numbers. Synchronously, the information contained on the perforated strip is also read and processed. By comparing the negative number detected in the exposure station with the information contained on the perforated strip, the correct exposure data are assigned to the particular negative. With the aid of these data, the negative master is copied onto positive photographic paper to produce a positive image. Additionally, the number assigned to the negative in the measuring station is printed onto the reverse side of the paper image. This process should be suitable both for full size and for half size images. It is stated in the reference that in the case of half size images it may be necessary to print two adjacent numbers onto the paper image to assure unambiguous correlation.
The process described and the corresponding apparatus are optimized for the aforementioned specific negative film materials, where the numbers are represented as additional strip codes, located on the edge of the film opposite the DX code.
On the other hand there is a demand for negative film materials on which one edge of the film is free of coded information. It may be desirable to provide thereon information relative to the negative film material that may be read without additional devices by the operating personnel, so that the negative film may be processed correctly even in photographic copy apparatuses without DX code detectors. It has therefore been proposed to apply to the negative film material a so-called expanded DX code. This expanded DX code contains in addition to the coded information of the existing DX code, another coded number and is located as before on the lower edge of the film. In this manner the additional bar code may be eliminated and the upper film edge remains free for other uses.
There is therefore the problem of creating a process for the production of photographic copies from photographic copy masters in a photographic copy apparatus, making it possible to work with the modified negative film material and the expanded DX code. Furthermore, the unambiguous correlation of the master and the copy both for full size and half size images should be possible by citing a single number. The process should be simple and capable of automation. Any multiple detection of coded information in the individual processing stations should be avoided. The corresponding apparatus should be simple in its configuration and no additional detectors should be required. A process is to be created making it easier for the customer to determine the correct copy master belonging to the reorder desired. The process should also permit the reliable processing of customer reorders.